Shrimp

(San Francisco-Style Seafood Soup) Cioppino is San Francisco's answer to bouillabaisse and, like that famous Provencal seafood soup, is made with a variety of the freshest fish possible. In San Francisco the mixture included Dungeness crab, which adds a unique flavor, but any regional crab will do. If crab is not available, substitute another shellfish. No clams? Try mussels. The point is to treat the following recipe as a guide and use whatever looks best in the market the day you make the soup.

You can prepare this brightly colored dip up to two days ahead.

Here is a light and festive way to introduce a holiday meal. This elegant soup goes very well with Champagne.

A simple dish from the Cottage Inn, Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

With steamed asparagus and some rice or mashed potatoes, this easy dish is elegant enough for company.

My mother had no interest in cooking, but did what she could to get a nutritious dinner on the table with the least possible effort. The concept of a "recipe" was virtually unknown to her. Most nights, dinner was composed of exactly one item from each of the four food groups, for example: a baked potato, boiled peas, broiled chicken, and ice cream. No two ingredients touched each other until they got to our plates. We always had plenty of shrimp in the house (my father was a seafood importer), so my mother took advantage of this food supply by keeping bowls of boiled shrimp with ketchup and horseradish in the refrigerator. Then, on special nights, my mother would give it all she had and make what we called a "dish." We celebrated her efforts at combining ingredients, but the results were never worth the wait.

With the endive leaves arranged in concentric circles on the platter, this is an especially attractive addition to the buffet table.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. The coconut milk can be found in the Asian foods section of most supermarkets.

"Caribbean food has become a real favorite of mine," writes Cindy M. Wright of Tarzana, California. "I just love the flavors of this spicy cuisine. One of the best places in my area is Cha Cha Cha in Encino. I've enjoyed everything I've had there, but I especially like the shrimp and rice dish called camarones negros."

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

"On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I was greatly taken with the grits served at the restaurant Slightly North of Broad, on East Bay Street," says Charles C. Gordon of Ontario, Canada. "Is it possible to get the recipe?"

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr Created at de Jonghe's restaurant in Chicago, this dish is a memorial to a time when we were afraid of garlic but not of butter. The amount of garlic in it was considered outrageously racy.

"I go to Spain frequently, and I've tried many kinds of paella there," says Bruce Cummings of Baltimore, Maryland. "Recently, though, I discovered an outstanding one right here in Baltimore, at Tio Pepe Restaurante."

We like these shrimp with corn on the cob, crusty bread, and a salad of summery greens. For dessert, offer a strawberry tart.